This original hand-coloured engraving, published in the Illustrated London News, depicts a pivotal moment near the close of the Anglo-Zulu War. Titled "The Zulu War: Ambassadors from King Cetewayo to Sue for Peace", the image is based on an on-site sketch by war correspondent and artist Melton Prior, one of the most prolific visual chroniclers of Victorian imperial conflicts.
The composition shows a group of Zulu envoys crouched before a British camp, under the watch of red-coated infantry and other colonial troops. Wrapped in cloaks and bearing the distinctive isicoco headrings of Zulu seniority, the ambassadors' posture conveys the heavy burden of their mission—to negotiate terms of peace on behalf of King Cetshwayo following a devastating campaign. Behind them, British officers, African auxiliaries, supply wagons, and tents populate the background, reinforcing the military setting and unequal power dynamic.
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Image size: 12.5 x 8.5 inches
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Overall dimensions with matting: 20 x 16 inches
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Condition: Very good; strong original hand-colouring and crisp detail. Light age-toning consistent with period. Attractively presented in a cream-coloured mat, ready for framing.
A significant and moving image from the final phase of the Zulu War, this illustration is ideal for collectors of colonial military art, 19th-century journalism, or works by Melton Prior.
